Upholstering for caskets.



PATENTED MAR. 1, 1904.

A. J. GROSS-. UPHOLSTERING FOR GASKETS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17. 1903.

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Patented March 1, 1904.

PATENT OF ICE.

ALBERT JAMES CROSS, OF RICHMOND, CANADA. 7

UPHOLSTEFIING FOR GASKETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,674, dated. March 1, 1904.

Application filed February 1'7, 1903- Serial No. 143,836. (N0 model- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT J AMES CROSS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at the town of Richmond, in the countyof Richmond, in the Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Upholsterings for Caskets and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in upholsterings for caskets and the like; and the object of the invention is to provide a ready-made upholstering, and thus greatly lessen the manual work attached to the undertakers business and also materially reduce the risk of fire in undertaking establishments where upholstering-work in caskets is being carried on; and it consists, essentially, of an elongated cushion having a flap, preferably of the same material, projecting therefrom and suitably attached to this flap a length of lining material customarily used in the interior of caskets and a headboard suitably upholstered and having an easel-rest at the back thereof and a cushion designed to cover the bottom of the casket and attached to the headboard, the various parts being constructed in detail, as hereinafter more particularly de scribed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a casket broken away to show the interior upholsterings. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the casket, showing the position of the head-rest and the upholsterings. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the casket. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of the headboard. Fig. 5 is a piece of the upholstering for the sides of the casket.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

a is the casket, which is here shown as having the slightly-sloping sides 6 and c.

d is an elongated cushion having the flap 'e projecting therefrom at its upper edge, as shown in Fig. 1.

f is a piece of material attached to the flap 0, so that the said pieces of material shall drape i ownwardly over the cushion d, as shown in g is the headboard, having the easel-rest h suitably hinged in the strip '5 on the back of the board. The legs of the rest are pointed at their lower ends. The headboard g is suitably upholstered on its top side and has a flexible hinge-strip j at its bottom edge. The

hinge-strip j is attached to the lateral strip 70, fastened to the floor of the casket a.

Z is a floor-cushion suitably fastened to the lower edge of the headboardv and substantially forming one piece therewith. The floorcushion Z is designedto completely cover the bottom of the casket a.

In order to apply my upholsterings practically to caskets, I take a length of the elon- I gated cushion d, which, as explained hereinbefore, is,attached to the material f, and tack the same around the side of the casket at the top of its sides 6 and c and also around the ends. This is done by tacking through the material f and the flap 6, thus keeping the elongated cushion (Z inside the material f. The material will now reach over the cushion d and hang down straight, and in cases where the bodies are small it will be left in this fashion; but where the casket is designed to contain a larger, body the material f will be tacked again to the sides and the ends of the casket immediately under the cushion d, as shown in the drawings. The headboard g is placed in the casket, together with the floor-cushion Z, as they are intended to form one distinct piece of the upholsterings together. The strip j, attached to the headboard, is tacked to the lateral strip fastened to the floor, and thus the board y will be raised or lowered, according to the position of the easel-rest it on the back thereof, as the pointed ends of the legs of the said easel-rest will at all times retain the headboard in the exact position to which the said legs may be adjusted.

It will be necessary in most cases to cut out the corners of the headboard, as shown in the drawings; but this will not be essential to the successful operation of the device.

The advantages of having this ready-made upholstering in the form described are many when it is considered that the undertaker at the present time has practically to be an upholsterer as well. The risks of fire in all upholstering establishments is known to be very great, and by having this ready-made uphol- I00 stering for the caskets this risk is materially reduced, and it is reasonable to expect that the cost of insurance would be thereby lessened. The cost to the undertaker is also much reduced,for he is able to purchase this, like the rest of his goods,from a large manufacturer, Who can turn out such goods very cheaply.

What I claim as my invention is In combination With a casket, acushion extending around the upper part thereof and projecting inwardly and a piece of material depending from the inner side of the said cushion and having a free lower edge, substan- 

